our Terms & Conditions

General Terms and Conditions

Competitions

Wordsmith_HQ(formerly The Student Wordsmith)runs regular online competitions and calls for submissions, and objectives will differ dependent on each individual call or competition. For more information on the specific objectives of an individual competition or call for submissions, please see our submissions page.

Common objectives of the website and company, as well as most competitions or calls for submissions, include:

To recognise the quality of work produced by, and to showcase the talents of, both emerging and established writers;

To develop Wordsmith_HQ’s (formerly The Student Wordsmith) own brand and potential by adding new products and ideas (e.g. the introduction of Patreon), in order to ensure that the organisation reaches its maximum potential and is financially sustainable for the purpose of continually supporting writers and creatives;

To award both prizes and opportunities for publication to winning and / or selected writers and submissions to enable entrants to continue to develop their craft and realise their potential within their chosen fields;

To identify potential and / or future employees, co-workers, partners and clients as part of Wordsmith_HQ’s sustainable development in the creative industry and growth as a business venture.

ELIGIBILITY

Wordsmith_HQ(formerly The Student Wordsmith)runs regular online competitions and calls for submissions, and eligibility criteria will differ dependent on each individual call or competition. For more information on the specific criteria of an individual competition or call for submissions, please see our submissions page.

General terms of eligibility are as follows:

Wordsmith_HQ competitions and calls for submissions are open to any individual with access to the platform who is above the age of 16 (unless a competition specifically specifies eligibility for a younger age group);

All writers are welcome to submit to our competitions and open calls for submissions, unless an individual competition or call states otherwise (e.g. is targeted at a particular, underrepresented group of writers or creatives);

Our competitions and calls for submissions are open to all individuals across any country with the ability to write fluently in the English Language, unless any competition or call for submission states that another language is encouraged or preferred;

Our competitions and calls for submissions will be open to a number of mediums, dependent on the individual briefs needing to be fulfilled by each one. See our submissions page for more information.

All submissions must conform to the set of rules as stated in the ‘How to Enter’ section on each individual competition or call for submissions page.

Submissions to any of our competitions or calls for submission must always be the original work of the entrant (writer) sending the work to us. It must also be sent in the correct format.

All submissions must work to the maximum word count rules as stated in any specific, individual competition or open call for submissions.

Submissions to any of our competitions or open calls for submissions must be sent by the deadline stated on each single competition or calls page in order to be eligible. Submissions received after the displayed deadline will not be considered for either publication or award.

All submissions must be sent to the Wordsmith team via email attachment (in Word document or PDF format) in order to be considered.

Please note that the Wordsmith_HQ team reserves the right to disqualify any entrant (writer) who fails to abide by the Terms and Conditions (as provided on this webpage) for any of our competitions or calls for submissions.

HOW TO ENTER: THE RULES

Wordsmith_HQ(formerly The Student Wordsmith) holds numerous online competitions and open calls for submissions, but takes all reasonable care necessary to ensure that each single competition or open call is complete with a full list of ‘How to Enter’ rules for each entrant (writer) to follow. This is to ensure that all entrants (writers) are clear on the exact criteria of each competition as set by the team.

These rules will include items such as deadline dates, a brief outline or theme to be followed, and clear instructions on how to send your submissions to us for consideration. The rules for each individual competition or call for submission (currently live) can be found here.

submitting your work to us via email

Wordsmith_HQ (formerly The Student Wordsmith) encourages all entrants (writers) to submit their work to the team electronically (via email) in order to be considered for publication as a result of any competition or open call for submissions.

The body of your email must be complete with your full name, email address, and a contact telephone number in order for us to contact you regarding the outcome of your submission. Failure to provide these details within the body of your email submission will result in your entry not being considered.

Your creative / written work should be submitted as an email attachment (in Word document, PDF or JPG format where relevant) and should omit any contact details or names for the purpose of upholding anonymity. This allows us to consider your work fairly and anonymously.

By submitting your work to us electronically (via email and attachment), you are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions as set out by Wordsmith_HQ (formerly The Student Wordsmith), both in general and for each individual competition or call for submissions.

PRIZES

Wordsmith_HQ(formerly The Student Wordsmith) will endeavour to award prizes and opportunities for publication in relation to each individual competition or open call for submissions set online. These prizes and opportunities are at the discretion of the Wordsmith team and we have the right to decide which prizes and / or opportunities are suitable for which competition or open call, as well as what these prizes or opportunities will be given for.

Please be aware that the number of prizes or opportunities available per competition or open call will vary dependent on the nature of each submission or competition opportunity.

Prizes and opportunities for publication will be subject to availability. Where a prize or another relevant opportunity has been offered but isn’t available, we will contact you to arrange an alternative prize or opportunity that you are happy with.

For more information on the prizes for a specific competition or call for submissions, please visit our submissions page.

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PAYMENT TERMS, METHODS and conditions

You are able to pay for your goods online here at Wordsmith_HQ via the PayPal service (as outlined and provided) and / or by using all major credit and / or debit cards (MasterCard, Visa, Visa Delta, Visa Purchasing, Switch and Solo) through the secure payment platform, Stripe. Alternatively, any of these payment cards or methods may be connected to your individual PayPal account.

You can find out more about how PayPal works, or set yourself up an account to begin purchasing your goods online from Wordsmith_HQ, by clicking here.

For more information regarding Stripe’s secure card payments and how this works, please click here.

You can also make payment online by BACS (Bank) transfer. To do this, please email us to request an invoice. We’ll send this to you securely via email within three working days. To complete your payment, you should follow the instructions as outlined in the invoice received, including both your full name and reference number (as detailed on your Wordsmith_HQ invoice).

RESERVATION OF RIGHTS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

On winning a competition or being selected for publication following one of our open calls for submissions (e.g. The Purple Breakfast Review), the selected and / or winning entrant(s) (writers) will retain the credit for their own written work. Their full name will be displayed upon their work when used in conjunction with Wordsmith_HQ’sproduct(s) or services.

Please note that Wordsmith_HQ will retain all intellectual property rights to its own products, with submissions and written (or illustrative) work present within / as a part of these products credited to the individual responsible for each submission.

Any work / entries deemed unsuccessful will be returned to the entrant(s) (writers) with immediate effect and all rights will be reserved by the owner and entrant (writer).

WordsmithHQ reserves the right to use any submission either wholly or in part, in line with the organisation’s own needs and requirements. Wordsmith_HQ also reserves the right to use a submission once or on numerous occasions, dependent on what is deemed most appropriate for the organisation’s needs and customer demands.

Wordsmith_HQ reserves the right to disqualify any entrant who fails to abide by the Terms and Conditions for any competition or open call for submission as outlined on this webpage.

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Wordsmith_HQ take all reasonable care necessary to ensure that all details, descriptions, and prices of products and services are correct as they appear on our website. The website is updated on a regular basis.

If you have any problems or would like to contact us for more information, please get in touch: